Aston Martin DB9 facelift (2008) driven CAR review

The suave DB9 has formed the backbone of Aston Martin’s revival in the noughties under the rein of the company's German boss Ulrich Bez. Now, some five years into its life, there’s a revised model, polished with post-DBS thinking and the dividend of steady yearly development.

A facelifted Aston Martin DB9? It looks pretty much exactly the same!

Yes, but then this is surely one of the most graceful and well balanced cars in production. Admittedly, every Aston might look the same, but come on... just look at it!

Perhaps Aston’s recent wares have overshadowed its less showy beauty, but there’s nothing wrong with the form of the DB9 grand tourer. Having said all that, there are minor differences if you look hard enough: the door mirrors are of the more delicate DBS type; the wheels are new, and the grille has new ‘teeth’ within its traditional gape.

What else has changed then?

Best to answer this in two parts: what’s new on the spec sheet, and what’s changed on the DB9 through gentle evolution. The former is easy to quantify, of course. There’s an extra 20bhp from that 6.0-litre baritone of a V12, and a slight jump in torque to 443lb ft, not that the ‘old’ DB9 was a slouch; a raised compression ratio in a rethought cylinder head generates these improvements, along with a deeper sump to cut drag on the crank.

In addition they’ve improved the Touchtronic gearbox with a new hydraulic control 'box, the benefit is claimed to be quicker, smoother shifts and less driver irritation at what was often slothful parking-speed behaviour. Bilstein dampers appear for the first time on the spec sheet, complemented by the promise of careful tuning of the suspension bushes. Inside, the DB9 adopts the DBS centre stack, but sticks with the Volvo-sourced navigation system. Which is a shame...

But this car is also a showcase for the constant development that Aston Martin has been carrying out on the DB9 over the past years: both subtle and more fundamental engineering changes that don’t feature on any press material.

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